In the Name of the Fada was a show that aired on RTÉ

RTE

RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...

 from 13 March to 17 April 2008, documenting Irish-American comedian Des Bishop

Des Bishop

Des Bishop is an Irish comedian and was brought up in New York. He is now primarily based in Ireland, after moving to County Wexford in 1990 at the age of 14.-Approach to Comedy:...

 and his pursuit of fluency in the Irish language

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

. The show was a 6-part mini-series in which Bishop spends a year living in Tír an Fhia, which is one of many Gaeltacht

Gaeltacht

is the Irish language word meaning an Irish-speaking region. In Ireland, the Gaeltacht, or an Ghaeltacht, refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts where the government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant language, that is, the vernacular spoken at home...

 regions in Ireland. Bishop aims to be able to perform a stand-up comedy act as Gaeilge (in Irish) by the end of the stay. The theme tune is Floating by Jape

Jape (band)

Jape are an Irish electronic–rock band from Dublin. Formed as a side project by Richie Egan whilst part of The Redneck Manifesto, they have released four albums to date; Cosmosphere , The Monkeys in the Zoo Have More Fun Than Me , Ritual and Ocean of Frequency...

.

Episodes

Episode 1 (Aired date: Thursday 13 March 2008)
As a native New Yorker, Des decides to go in search for a true rite of passage into Ireland by learning Irish in Connemara's Gaeltacht.

Episode 2 (Aired date: Thursday 20 March 2008)
Des becomes more accustomed to the life and language of the Conamara Gaeltacht. He takes part in a Gaelic football match and sits the Foundation Level Leaving Certificate paper.

Episode 3 (Aired date: Thursday 27 March 2008)
Struggling with Irish grammar, Des turns to Hip Hop for help.

Episode 4 (Aired date: Thursday 3 April 2008)
Inspired by a trip to "Oireachtas na Gaeilge

Oireachtas na Gaeilge

Oireachtas na Gaeilge is an annually held arts festival of Irish culture, which has run since the 1890s. Based on the Welsh Eisteddfod, Oireachtas na Gaeilge runs for one week, featuring performances, demonstrations and competitions...

" in Westport, Des visits different Gaeltacht areas.

Episode 5 (Aired date: Thursday 10 April 2008)
Des returns to the States and discovers that he's not the only American struggling to learn Irish.

Episode 6 (Aired date: Thursday 17 April 2008)
The big night finally arrives. Is Des ready for his first comedy gig in Irish?